Umbrellas, a Hong Kong protest symbol, broken
AP PHOTOS: Umbrellas, a Hong Kong protest symbol, broken HONG KONG (AP) — Amid the detritus from protests that turned violent in Hong Kong this week was umbrellas. Blue, black and clear, half-open, partly broken, some reduced to bent metal frames. Umbrellas became a symbol of protest in Hong Kong...
High court avoids new case over same-sex wedding case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is throwing out an Oregon court ruling against bakers who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The justices’ action Monday keeps the high-profile case off the court’s election-year calendar and orders state judges to take a new look at the dispute...
Elon Musk claims he’s deleting his Twitter account
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Elon Musk says he’s deleting his Twitter account 10 months after his use of the social media site landed him in trouble with U.S. regulators. The Tesla CEO changed his Twitter display name to Daddy DotCom on Father’s Day. Daddy.com is an existing website that provides...
Shark bites child in third North Carolina attack this season
BALD HEAD ISLAND, N.C. — North Carolina officials say a shark bit an 8-year-old boy in what is now the third attack this season along the North Carolina coast. News outlets report the boy was swimming in open water Sunday afternoon when a shark grabbed him by the leg, causing...
Overflowing Great Lakes pose new threat for endangered bird
GLEN HAVEN, Mich. — Peering through a spotting scope mounted on a tripod, researcher Alice Van Zoeren notices a piping plover skittering across a sandy, pebble-strewn Lake Michigan beach and hopping into a nest, swapping places with its mate. “Nest exchange! Did you see it?” Van Zoeren calls to colleagues....
Lawmakers raise alarm after wave of Philly shootings
PHILADELPHIA — Lawmakers from Philadelphia called for increased action from state and city officials Monday to stem a rising tide of gun violence that included a fatal shooting when someone sprayed gunfire into a high school graduation party at a public park. The bloody weekend comes as Philadelphia’s homicide count...
GOP mutters, gently, as Trump sidesteps Senate for top aides
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s latest anointment of an acting head of a major federal agency has prompted muttering, but no more than that, from Republican senators whose job description includes confirming top administration aides. Their reluctance to confront Trump comes as veterans of the confirmation process and analysts say...
Police: Deaths of 4 believed homicide-suicide in Bradford County
WYALUSING — Four people were found dead in a northern Pennsylvania home in what is believed to have been a murder-suicide, state police said. Police in Bradford County said the bodies were found Friday in a home in Wyalusing. Jesse Lee Northrup is believed to have shot and killed Edwin...
Trump campaign cuts ties with 3 members of polling team after grim numbers leakedVideo
President Trump’s campaign is cutting ties with three members of his polling team after grim numbers showing him trailing former vice president Joe Biden in several battleground states were leaked to the media last week, according to several officials with knowledge of the matter. Days ahead of Trump’s official launch...
Record number of African migrants coming to Mexican border
PORTLAND, Maine — Undaunted by a dangerous journey over thousands of miles, people fleeing economic hardship and human rights abuses in African countries are coming to the U.S.-Mexico border in unprecedented numbers, surprising Border Patrol agents more accustomed to Spanish-speaking migrants. Officials in Texas and even Maine are scrambling to...
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says there is more evidence that Iran attacked tankersVideo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that more evidence will be released soon to prove the administration’s assertion that Iran was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week. Despite some skepticism from U.S. allies and Democrats, Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday”...
Hong Kong’s leader apologizes as crowds demand her resignation
Hong Kong was once again the scene of enormous peaceful demonstrations Sunday, a day after the territory’s chief executive bowed to public pressure by suspending a contentious extradition bill viewed as a challenge to the city’s autonomy. Organizers estimate 1.9 million people attended the demonstrations, which is about a quarter...
Phoenix police chief apologizes to family over incidentVideo
PHOENIX — Phoenix’s police chief has publicly apologized to members of a family at whom police officers pointed guns and yelled profanities while responding to a report of shoplifting. The parents say their 4-year-old daughter had stolen a doll from the store, unbeknownst to them. They have filed a $10...
Trump’s Father’s Day tweets: Washington Post and New York Times will fold once he’s goneVideo
On a day when the United States celebrates fatherhood, President Trump had American media on his mind. In yet another display of his preoccupation with the press, Trump tweeted on Sunday that a poll should be conducted regarding the Washington Post and the New York Times, two of the largest...
Ex-pastor in Texas accused of sexually abusing teen relative
HOUSTON — A former Southern Baptist pastor who supported legislation in Texas that would have criminalized abortions has been arrested on charges of child sex abuse, accused of repeatedly molesting a teenage relative over the course of two years. Stephen Bratton is accused of subjecting the relative to inappropriate touching...
McKeesport man arrested in Brooklyn house blaze that injured more than a dozen
NEW YORK — Authorities say a man is facing attempted murder and arson charges in connection to a blaze that tore through a home and spread to two others, injuring more than a dozen residents and first responders. Police say the 41-year-old from McKeesport, was arrested Saturday. He had not...
RAGÚ pasta sauce recalled due to possible plastic contaminants
Five varieties of RAGÚ pasta sauce have been recalled because they may contain pieces of plastic. Mizkan America, Inc., announced the voluntary recall Saturday and asks consumers to check their refrigerator and pantry for the jars affected by the recall. Any recalled sauce should be thrown away. Consumers should look...
June’s Strawberry Moon rises as Father’s Day sets
It’s time to pick the strawberries … at least according to the lunar cycle. Sunday night at sunset the last full moon of the spring - the Strawberry Moon - with rise and then crest Monday morning at 4:30 a.m. in the Eastern time zone. The name Strawberry Moon comes...
Police: 4 family members shot, killed in Iowa
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa— Relatives discovered the bodies of four family members, including two children, with gunshot wounds at their home in central Iowa, police said. The bodies were discovered Saturday morning at the home in West Des Moines, The Des Moines Register reported. Authorities identified the victims as 44-year-old...
Israel moves to name Golan settlement after Trump
RAMAT TRUMP, Golan Heights — The Trump name graces apartment towers, hotels and golf courses. Now it is the namesake of a tiny Israeli settlement in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet convened in this hamlet Sunday to inaugurate a new settlement named after President Donald...
Utah veteran turning 101 gets over 5,000 birthday cards
OREM, Utah — When John Frey’s family requested 101 birthday cards to celebrate the World War II veteran’s 101st birthday in Utah, they were expecting to get 500 at most. At a celebration on June 8, a day after his birthday, Frey ended up with well over 5,000 cards, the...
Summer camp is newest front in battle with measles outbreak
ALBANY, N.Y. — The battle to contain the worst U.S. measles outbreak in 27 years has a new front: summer camp. Vaccinations have been made mandatory this summer for campers and staff in several counties north of New York City that annually fill up with kids from the Orthodox Jewish...
Alabama orders ‘chemical castration’ of some child molesters
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Some Alabama sex offenders who abuse young children will have to undergo “chemical castration” while on parole, under a new law, but the requirement has prompted legal concerns and it appears to be rarely used in some states that allow it. The procedure uses medications that block...
4 years in, Trump fondly recalls Trump Tower campaign launch
NEW YORK — It was the escalator ride that would change history. Four years ago on Sunday, Donald Trump descended through the pink marble and brass atrium of Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for president , the first step on a journey few believed would take him all the...
Target says registers are fixed at all stores after Saturday’s outage
Everyone planning to make a Target run today can breathe a sigh of relief — the retail giant’s registers are back up and running after a brief outage Saturday. Target officials released a statement assuring shoppers the store’s registers are fully back online in all stores. “The temporary outage earlier...
